Hey All,
Yes, the summer reading portion of this blog is as late as the start of the CFL season this year. Your author here blames it on his reluctance to finally acquire a new computer. After trying to save the old one that was rendered "Obsolete" by Apple, I did go and get a new one. So, better late than never, lets take our annual ride on the old Coaching Carousel. We still miss you, Alan Malamud.
Arizona
OUT: Kevin Sumlin
IN: Jedd Fisch
Kevin Sumlin's tenure at UofA was disappointing to say the least. The Wildcats went a dismal 9-20 under his tutelage which included three straight losses to rival ASU. The final loss to ASU was a 70-7 drubbing that showed just how low the program had fallen. Next man up is Jedd Fisch who has an interesting resume to say the least. Fisch never played football at the high school or college level. His coaching career started as he was an undergrad at Florida, being the defensive coordinator at a local high school. He got a huge break when Florida HC Steve Spurrier hired him as a GA in 1999. From there he spent most of his time in the NFL being a QB coach or OC. His college coaching stint that folks around here may remember was in 2017 when he served as the OC for Jim Mora at UCLA. He then succeeded Mora as the interim HC when Mora was shown the door. He comes back to the Pac 12 after being the QB coach for the New England Patriots in 2020. Fisch has created some good early feelings among the Wildcats faithful by bringing some alums back to the campus. He has hired Chuck Cecil and Rickey Hunley as assistants. Fisch will need time to build up form the wreckage left by Kevin Sumlin. That will be quite a task for a guy who has never been a full-time HC on any level.
Arkansas State
OUT Blake Anderson
IN: Butch Jones
Blake Anderson is just another one in the line of coaches that have had a good run with Arkansas State and moved on. Anderson led the Red Wolves to six straight bowl games and two Sun Belt titles before heading off to Utah State. Next man up in Jonesboro isn't a coach on the way up, but one looking for redemption with a name that fits the town in Butch Jones. Jones' last HC job was at Tennessee where he had a pair of nine-win seasons, but never got his team over the hump. His final year there, 2017, saw him fired mid season. Since his firing, Jones has spent the last three seasons at Alabama as an assistant to St. Nicholas of Tuscaloosa. Jones has turned other programs around before, but he doesn't have to do this here. ASU is a solid program that he can make the tops in the Sun Belt year in and year out.
Auburn
OUT: Gus Malzahn
IN: Bryan Harsin
After eight tumultuous years on The Plains, Gus Malzahn was let go at Auburn. His tine there was rocky to say the least. A national championship appearance was the highlight of a roller coaster ride that saw the Tigers revert back to little brother status as Alabama reasserted their dominance. The Tigers athletic braintrust then looked to the west for Malzahn's replacement. Bryan Harsin comes form Boise State where his Bronco squads won at least 10 games most years and were the class of the Mountain West Conference. Harsin walks into a program that needs to do one thing; beat Alabama on a consistent basis. Thats a daunting task to say the least.
Boise State
OUT: Bryan Harsin
IN: Andy Avalaos
As mentioned above, Bryan Harsin had a great run at BSU and is now off to Auburn. The Broncos then went out and hired a former Bronco in Andy Avalos. Avalos played linebacker at Boise in the early 2000s. Avalos then stayed in the west for his coaching career. He started of as a GA at Colorado in 2006. Then worked his way back to BSU after stops at Nebraska-Kearney and Sacramento State. He rose form DL coach in 2013 to the DC position in 2018. He has spent the last two season as the DC at Oregon where the Ducks have had a pretty good defense. The big knock on Avalos is that he has never served as a HC at any level. Can he keep the Broncos at the top of MWC? Time will tell.
Buffalo
OUT: Lance Leipold
IN: Maurice Linguist
Those in charge at Buffalo did no think they'd be losing Lance Leipold last year. Leipold came to Buffalo off an amazing run at D-III Wisconsin-Whitewater that featured six national championships. Leipold had only gone 37-33 at Buffalo, but when the Les Miles' was canned in Lawrence, Leipold leapt at the chance to try and build a winner at the abyss of college football that is Kansas. Former UB assistant Maurice Linguist was tabbed to be the HC. Funny things was that Linguist already had a job. For 107 days, he had been the DB coach and Co-DC at Michigan. Linguist had taken the Michiagn job after being the DB coach for the Dallas Cowboys in 2020. This will be his first HC job, but one he said he couldn't pass up when it became available according to this article in the Detroit Free Press last may. Short Stay at UM. Linguist hasn't been in any one job very long coaching at nine different places in a 14 year career. Maybe he will hit it right and be at Buffalo for awhile.
Central Florida
OUT: Josh Heupel
IN: Gus Malzahn
UCF had their HC leave for the SEC and got one back in return. Josh Heupel left UCF for Tennessee and in his place comes Gus Malzahn from Auburn. Malzahn is off the crazy ride that is the expectation level at Auburn. However, the expectations at UCF are pretty high too. UCF posted a 35-5 record form 2017-19 before suffering a COVID plagued 6-4 2020 season. Malzahn should know just how a good a program UCF is as his Auburn squad was beaten by the Golden Knights in the 2017 Fiesta Bowl.
Illinois
OUT: Lovie Smith
IN: Bret Bielema
Lovie Smith's five seasons at Illinois did not bring a lot of victories or anything close to a Big Ten title to Champaign-Urbana. In fact, the Illini were a pedestrian 17-39 under Smith's tutelage. However, the man who led the Bears to a Super Bowl berth was hired first and foremost to bring stability and class to a program that was reeling from the Tim Beckman era. An era that was filled with scandals of player abuse and a toxic program environment. The next man up in Champaign is not known for being nearly as classy as Smith, Bret Bielema. Bielema returns to the Big Ten after a successful run at Wisconsin that was followed by an epically poor run at Arkansas. Bielema went 68-24 at Wisconsin from 2006-12 and left abruptly for Arkansas after a dispute over salaries for his assistant coaches. Speculation is that Bielema saw the chance to take an SEC job and leapt at it. He also never informed his AD, Barry Alvarez, or anyone else at Wisconsin that he was leaving until he had already left. At Arkansas, Bielema's Razorbacks posted a 29-34 record. Bielema had several run-ins along the way with the Admin in Fayetteville. He was fired in 2017 as he left the field after the Razorbacks' 48-45 lost to Missouri. Bielema can produce a winning team, but the man has a shelf life. Will he make Illinois a winner before his shelf life expires? Bielema's brusque behavior goes back to his playing days at Iowa. Check out this low class move he pulled off as a senior captain of the Hawkeyes back in 1992. Bret Pops Off
Kansas
OUT: Les Miles
IN: Lance Leipold
The Mad Hatter had quite an interesting if not successful stay in Lawrence. Under Les Miles KU racked up a 3-18 record overall record and a 1-16 mark in Big XII play. It looked like KU was headed into another season with Miles pacing the sidelines when the fallout from the sexual misconduct investigations at LSU hit the fan. It was revealed that when Miles led the Bayou Bengals, there were some incidents of inappropriate sexual behavior between the Miles and a pair of female students. KU AD Jeff Long had been through this before. When he was the AD at Arkansas, he fired Bobby Petrino for sexual misconduct. He and the KU board didn't want to wait and see if the same behavior would surface at KU and fired Miles. The Jayhawks then reached out to Buffalo HC Lance Leipold who eagerly took the chance to be a HC in the Big XII. Leipold has been successful at every stop in his coaching career. He faces and uphill battle at KU, but if he fails most of the blame for the failure would be placed on Long. After all, the man does not have a great track record of hiring head coaches.
Louisiana-Monroe
OUT: Matt Viator
IN: Terry Bowden
Hey, remember when John Robinson jumped off his retirement couch and dragged Bruce Snyder along with him for one last ride on the sidelines of UNLV from 1999-2004? Looks like we've got the same thing happening at ULM. Terry Bowden who has had notable stints as the HC at Auburn and Akron will now roam the sidelines for the Warhawks with Rich Rodriguez as his DC. Yes, Dick-Rod himself of West Virginia, Michigan and Arizona fame will be there too. Oh, and why not bring these guys with nothing really to prove into the program? ULM has been a graveyard of coaches for their entire time on the FBS level. The latest victim was Matt Viator who took a fine record at FCS power McNeese State with him to ULM only to watch his career get derailed with a team that produced a meager 19-39 record over the last five seasons.
Marshall
OUT: Doc Holliday
IN: Charles Huff
Doc Holliday had a solid tenure with the Thundering Herd. His record was 85-54 in 11 seasons with a C-USA title in 2014. He was also named C-USA Coach of the Year twice. However, that wasn't enough to please one notable fan of the Thundering Herd. No, that fan was not the AD. Nope, the fan wasn't a high powered member of Board of Trustees, either. It was West Virginia Governor Jim Justice. According to reports from the West Virginia Gazette & Mail, Justice didn't like Holliday and had been pushing for his ouster since at least 2017. So Justice go his way and Holliday was relieved of his duties last January. The man taking his place is Charles Huff. The last two season Huff has been the RB coach and Associate HC at Alabama. Huff has never been a HC before and has spent his entire career on the offensive side of the ball coaching everything from OL to TEs to RBs. He's regarded as a great recruiter in FBS circles. If he is to succeed at Marshall, his first major recruit might have to be Governor Justice.
South Alabama
OUT: Steve Campbell
IN: Kane Wommack
Steve Campbell had been a pretty successful HC until he took the job at South Alabama. On the D-II level he won a national title at Delta State before moving on to Central Arkansas where he led the Bears to a 33-15 record and two playoff appearances in the FCS. Campbell never got the Jaguars out of the ditch the program was in when he arrived. A 9-26 record over three seasons didn't merit a fourth and he was fired with a $350,000 buyout. The next man chosen to lead the Jaguars is Kane Wommack. Wommack comes to the Jaguars from Indiana where he has been the DC there the last two seasons. However, Wommack is a child of the south. He played FB and TE at both Arkansas and Southern Miss. He also has ties to South Alabama serving as the DC/LB coach from 2016-17. The Jaguars are hoping his youth and talent can lead the team to their first wining record in FBS play. Wommack is only 34 years old and is seen as an upon and comer in the coaching ranks.
South Carolina
OUT: Will Muschamp
IN: Shane Beamer
Will Muschamp washed out in his second SEC HC gig like he did at his first. He led the Gamecocks to an underwhelming 28-30 record in five seasons. Shane Beamer has been tabbed to take his place. Beamer is a rising star in the coaching world. His last job was as the Associate HC and TE coach at Oklahoma. He also has ties to Steve Spurrier as he served as the 'Ol Ball Coach's OLB/ST/CB coach and Recruiting coordinator over a four year stint at SoCar. He also has coaching in his blood being the son of legendary VaTech HC Frank Beamer. Expectations are high in Columbia for the younger Beamer. If he is successful, it will definitely shift the balance of power in the SEC East.
Southern Mississippi
OUT: Will Hall
IN: Jay Hopson
Jay Hopson was the earliest HC to be let go in 2020, resigning just one game into the season. Hopson had spent a great deal of time in the USM program and speculation about his dismissal ranges from health issues to athletic department politics. The new HC is Will Hall. He comes to USM from Tulane where he was the OC the last two seasons. His efforts revived the the moribund Green Wave offense that was scoring single digits a game into a 34-point a game team. Hall does know the territory too. He was the HC at West Alabama and West Georgia, leading both schools multiple D-II playoff berths. All the other stops on his resume have been in the south as well. Hopes are he finds a groove at USM and stays a decade or so.
Tennessee
OUT: Jeremy Pruitt
IN: Josh Heupel
After riots, fits of fan outrage and athletic department meddling, the Volunteers find themselves in a familiar place; an also ran in the SEC East. The latest HC victim was Jeremy Pruitt. Pruitt was axed after an internal investigation discovered recruiting violations in the program that could draw Level I or Level II penalties form the NCAA. Basically, the Tennessee admin had tired of Pruitt and his mediocre record and wanted him gone. The job now rests in the hands of Josh Heupel. Heupel won almost every award out there as the QB at OU back in 2000 and his coaching career has been pretty good too. The last three season he was at UCF where he led the Golden Knights to a 28-8 record and three bowl games. Hopes are high that he will lead the Volunteers back to relevance. However, Heupel could also do some minor thing that leads to the fanbase storming the gates of athletic department to have him fired. Hey, it's whacked out Knoxville where anything could happen.
Texas
OUT: Tom Herman
IN: Steve Sarkisian
Cutty Sark is back! After the folks in charge at Texas figured out that Tom Herman wasn't really the rock they thought their football church was built on, they raided Alabama for OC Steve Sarkisian. Not many men have been named HC at three different major schools by the age of 47, but there were some mitigating factors at work here. If USC AD Pat Haden hadn't chosen to ignore all the advice given to him by the search committee, Sark and his two-ton bar tabs never would have been the HC at USC. However, now that he and his career have been redeemed by the healing touch of Nick Saban one big question remains; is Sark the guy who can finally bring Texas back?
Vanderbilt
OUT: Derek Mason
IN: Clark Lea
The other member of the SEC from the Volunteer state replaced a coach too. Over in Commodore-land Derek Mason was fired after an 0-8 start to the 2020 season. Mason left Nashville with a dismal 27-55 record. The Vandy braintrust now looks to an alum to now lead the program. Clark Lea played fullback for Vandy from 2002-04. His coaching career started in the Pac 10 where he served as a GA for Karl Dorrell at UCLA and then a as a GA/LB coach for Rick Neuheisel with the bRuins from 2009-11. Lea's career has always been on the defensive side of the ball. He was primarily a LB coach before being promoted to DC at Notre Dame where he guided the Irish defenses from 2018-20. If Lea is able to turn Vandy into a middle of the road SEC program with a few bowl games, it would be a miracle.
Utah State
OUT: Gary Andersen
IN: Blake Anderson
Remember Gary Andersen? He's the weird guy who left Oregon State and a 12 million dollar buyout behind because he didn't think he wasn't doing a good enough job back in 2017. He then took the Utah State job for a second time in 2019. Then after his Aggies started the season at 0-3, he was asked to leave and voluntarily left a 2.9 million dollar buyout behind (wow). Utah State took Andersen's buyout and hired Anderson, Blake Anderson away from Arkansas State. Blake Anderson's seven years at ASU were just a part of a coaching career that started in 1992 as a GA at Eastern New Mexico. He's had success just about everywhere he has been, including being the OC for Trinity Valley CC's national championship season of 1997. Utah State's admin hires he brings wins and stability to the program.
Until next time folks, remember that every coach knows his Xs and Os, but you win games with the Johnnies and the Joes. Recruiting is huge.
-The Commissioner
